Saturday, May 4, 2019

Judas Priest rocked an extensive selection of rarities during their North American tour opener in Hollywood, FL on May 3.

Fully 12 of the band’s 18-song set at the city’s Hard Rock Event Center were new additions to the revamped Firepower performance, as promised recently by frontman Rob Halford, who told Real Rock 99.3 St. Louis: "We're mixing it up … we're bringing a different show this time. We've got a different stage set, costumes, lights, and, most importantly, the music. We're bringing out some real beautiful old classics that we haven't played before or we haven't in a long time. So it's gonna be a real treat."

Three tracks from 2018’s “Firepower” made their live debut, including "Necromancer", "Spectre" and "Traitors Gate", alongside the first-time appearances of "(Take These) Chains" from 1982's "Screaming For Vengeance", and the tour debut of “Halls Of Valhalla” from 2014’s "Redeemer Of Souls."

Judas Priest also presented seven classic tracks that haven’t been played in years: 1986’s “Out In The Cold” and 1990’s “All Guns Blazing” were last performed during their original album cycles; 1980’s “Steeler” was last heard in 2010; and, four songs resurfaced for the first time in seven years – 1977’s “Starbreaker”, 1981’s “Heading Out To The Highway”, 1984’s “The Sentinel”, and 2005’s “Judas Rising.”

Guitarist Glenn Tipton – retired from touring due to his battle with Parkinson’s Disease with “Firepower” co-producer Andy Sneap in the lineup – rejoined his bandmates for the encores in Florida on the tour’s opening night.

“A big thank you to our #priestfamily in #Hollywood #Florida tonight for kicking off this leg of the #firepower tour with us,” posted the band on Instagram. “It was great to see you all and play some deep cuts and new gems!”